Recently, APEC Sustainable Energy Center (APSEC) announced that it would set up an English course "Sustainable Urban Development in APEC under the SDGs" for graduate students at Tianjin University where APSEC has established an Academic Committee composed of domestic experts and the APEC High Level Expert Advisory Committee to integrate high-end intellectual resources in the domestic and international energy fields, conduct research on major issues of low-carbon energy transformation and sustainable development and promote APEC sustainable cities. This course has now been approved by the Graduate School of Tianjin University and incorporated into the English course system for urban planning at the School of Architecture.

“The establishment of this course is a solid step taken by APSEC to support the discipline construction of the School of Architecture, promote the school's internationalization, and establish a high-level international education and teaching system,” said some official at the School of Architecture.

Global climate change receives worldwide attention, and urban sustainability is a matter of wide concern in the world. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the related global frameworks included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represent an innovative global goal-oriented development paradigm. Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities) places higher requirements on urban development. As urban planners play a key role in the construction of sustainable cities and communities, the knowledge system of the SDGs is even more needed.

The course will not only broaden the horizon of students by giving them a genuinely global and holistic perspective of urban development, but also give tomorrow's urban planners and leaders theoretical concepts and practical tools. The teaching material of this course will be in English. The main teaching materials include APEC Sustainable Urban Development Report (APEC publication by APSEC), the outcome reports of international organizations and ISO standards.

Prof. Steivan Defilla, a part-time Swiss professor at the School of Architecture will be the principal lecturer of the course with Dr. Zhexing Yan as the assistant teacher.

Graduate students will be able to access to the English course in the 2020 fall semester.